Thomas a



(No Model.)

` T. A. TWBEDY.

FENCE.

No. 447,588. Patented-M81. 8, 1881.

STATES THOMAS A. TWEEDY, OF KNIGHTSTOIVN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO OYRUS f CRABBS, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,588, dated March 3, 1891.

Application filed August 16, 1888. Serial No. 282,886. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. TWEEDY, o Knightstown, in the county of Henry and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fences, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention consists in a rail or other like fence of novel construction, substantially as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l represents a view in perspective of a fence in part constructed in accordance with my invention, mainly showing the same as completed,but also illustrating at the lefthand of the figure the same in the course of construction. Fig. 2 is a plan View of a portion of the fence, including only one of its posts; and Fig. 3, a vertical transverse sect-ion of the fence.

To construct the fence I first take any number of posts A, of any desired length and plant them in the ground at any desired distance apart. I then take one of the rails B, by which term is included boards, poles, or other like stretchers, and placing` it in an upright position against a post-say one of the end posts-embrace the post and rail with a piece of wire of suitable length, and twist the ends of said wire together, after which I draw down the rail to a horizontal position on the same side of the next post A, and straddle the wire on both sides of the post with a staple driven into the post. This operation should be commenced with the lower rail of the fence-section. I then take another rail B and place it in an upright position on the opposite side of said second or next post, then take Wire b of suitable length and pass one end of. it around the upright railand the post, then under thehorizontal rail, then bring the other end of it over the projecting end of the horizontal rail and twist the two ends of the wire together, after which I bring down' the upright rail to a horizontal position, in doing which it will act as a lever on the wire,bendin g it and binding the rails firmly to the post, after which theWire-b is straddled with staples c on both sides of the post. I then proceed in like manner till the whole fence is completed, the building of it being in an upward direction so far as the rails are concerned.

The binding of the rails firmly to the post by bringing an upright rail to a horizontal position after the wire b has been passed around said rail around the adjacent horizontal rail on the opposite side of the post and around the post is clearly illustrated at the left hand of Fig. l, Where one of the rails is shown by full lines in an'upright position, ready to be turned down to effect the binding, and its position when turned down to ahoriz-ontal plane by dotted lines. This binding, effected by bringing down the rails as described, causes the tie-Wires,which, as shown, extend around the posts and rails diagonally, to sink into the wood of the posts and rails, which are thus secured together so firmly that in many, if not all, cases other fastenings might be dispensed with, although I prefer to use the staples c, as above described.

A fence constructed as described not only admits of being cheaply made and a serviceable one for farmers, but it will occupy but little land, consequently leave more land for cultivation, and will stand a large amount of strain. The placing of the rails one panel on the one side and the other panel on the other side, equalizes the weight on opposite sides of the posts and makes the fence a very solid one. Each panel may have any number of rails, and a broken rail may be easily removed and another slipped in its place, or certain of the rails by driving in the staples and loosening the binding-wires, may be made to slip out as removable bars in the place of a gate.

I am aware that fence-rails have been secured to their posts by tie-wires and staples, which are therefore old for such a purpose; but

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

IOO

o. The combination, with a fence-post and the rails of the two adjacent panels, of a tie- Wire and a pair of staples, said wire passing 15 diagonally across both sides of the post, through a staple on each side thereof, around the post, and around the said rails, as shown and described.

THOMAS A. TWEEDY.

Witnesses:

NATHAN C. SWAIN, SETH R. ATLEE. 

